Nearly 2 decades later, man wants case for freedom heard

Did a scared teenage boy confess to a double murder he did not commit 17 years ago? Daniel Villegas has been locked away in a Texas prison since being convicted of capital murder in the shooting of teenagers Armando "Mando" Lazo and Bobby England.

Police and prosecutors said Villegas, 16 at the time of the killings, was a member of a street gang that shot at four teens, fatally striking two on April 10, 1993. Villegas, now 33, maintains that he is innocent, the victim of a detective who elicited a false confession during an unrelenting interrogation.

El Paso building contractor John Mimbela Sr. and other supporters of Villegas are seeking a new hearing following a two-year inquiry by a private investigator and a lawyer hired by Mimbela. Villegas' supporters point out that the confession he gave detectives differed from what witnesses said.

Teens supposedly with Villegas at the time of the shooting also gave statements to detectives implicating him, but they testified in court that they had lied. The two teens who survived the shooting are now grown men. Last year, they signed affidavits saying Villegas' confession did not match what happened.

Late last year, lawyer Charles Louis Roberts filed a writ saying Villegas had ineffective counsel during his retrial in 1995, leading to his conviction and life sentence. His first trial in 1994 with lawyer Jaime Olivas ended in a hung jury and a mistrial. The jury voted 11-1 for conviction.

Villegas' lawyer in the retrial, John D. Gates, failed to call 18 witnesses from the first trial who would have offered evidence of an alibi for Villegas. Gates stated in an affidavit he had a different strategy, and he felt the witnesses would have been hurtful.

The chances the state will take a look at the writ are smaller than slim, but Villegas' supporters have hope. "We are asking and begging to just review the information. Review it, read it," said Mimbela, a family friend of Villegas. "All we are asking for is a fair hearing."

About two and a half years ago, Mimbela found Villegas' family crying when he visited their home because Villegas' legal appeals were exhausted. He was skeptical when Villegas' parents told him their son was innocent. "I said 'Let me look at the documents,' " Mimbela said. "The more I looked at it, I thought, man, this is crazy."

Mimbela said witness statements did not match. Physical evidence was nonexistent. The only real proof was a confession from a teenager who claimed he was coerced.

Mimbela said he was told there's only a 5 percent chance that the state will even look at the new documents. "My philosophy is that we are here to help each other," he said. "And here is somebody who was dealt an injustice. And his family can't afford to have a good lawyer. I feel for the kid, I certainly do, because I feel for his innocence." Mimbela is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.

In letters Villegas wrote from prison provided to the El Paso Times, he described being at the brink of losing hope in a hellish existence, praying for a sign from God. Then his cause was taken up by Mimbela.

"Do you realize how discouraging it is to know you are innocent of a crime, yet have no one believe you cause of a coerced confession?" Villegas wrote in a letter. "The very first thing they say is 'If you didn't do it, why did you confess to it? I wouldn't ever confess to nothing I didn't do.'

"At which you're lost for words. Cause no matter how you try to explain it to them, they do not believe that the police would ever coerce you into a statement. I mean in their mind it's unAmerican. What happened to me and others is suppose to happen in some Third World or a Communist country, not in the good ole land of liberty."

District Attorney Jaime Esparza was the prosecutor in both trials. He said jurors decided for themselves about the veracity of the statements made to police. "How the confession was obtained was fully examined," Esparza said. "This is not a new complaint that the confession was obtained through coercion. Obviously, the jury believed it wasn't, as well as the judge."

Esparza said he was aware of the writ and his office has cooperated. But, he said, the right decision was made in prosecuting Villegas. "It is my belief that he received a fair trial. The evidence we presented to the jury was proper and the jury's verdict was correct," Esparza said.

Private investigator Freddie Bonilla said a review of testimony, evidence and re-interviews of witnesses exposed a flawed homicide investigation. "There is no doubt in my mind that the kid didn't do it," said Bonilla, a retired El Paso police homicide detective and a former captain of detectives in the Sheriff's Office with more than 40 years experience.

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